WARF launches new programs for promising compounds

In conjunction with the Keck-UW Comprehensive Cancer Center Small Molecule Screening Facility (SMSF), the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) is launching a new initiative for assay development and small-molecule screening.

The Lead Discovery Initiative addresses the development and application of high-throughput screening assays to the identification of small molecules that play a role in pathway modulation and have potential for commercial development.

Researchers who have characterized putative regulatory elements or drug targets in any therapeutic indication are encouraged to apply. The program also is open to researchers who have already begun to conduct small-molecule screens of putative drug targets through initial work at the SMSF, but lack the funds to develop structure activity relationships (SAR) for lead candidates.

In addition to developing assays and screening new targets, the SMSF can also assist researchers who have created new chemical entities and would like to assess these compounds in existing assays, including cytotoxicity. Assays that are currently available through the facility are listed at http://www.hts.wisc.edu/Resources/nonscreening_info.htm.

Work under the Lead Discovery Initiative will be carried out at the SMSF, with WARF funding administered directly to SMSF. The program is designed to assist in assay development, screening the existing compound library and, ultimately, obtaining expanded compound libraries from commercial sources to further develop SAR.

Applications will be evaluated on a monthly basis by a core team comprised of representatives from the School of Pharmacy, the SMSF and WARF.

All UW–Madison researchers are eligible to apply in conjunction with a principal investigator. Applicants must have submitted a WARF Invention Disclosure Report (IDR) prior to application, or may do so at the same time as their LDI application. The request for LDI applications and the LDI applications themselves are available at http://www.warf.org and http:// www.hts.wisc.edu.

Questions about the two new initiatives should be directed to Laura Heisler, manager of the WARF Strategic Technology Enhancement Program, 261-1022 or laura@warf.org.

Questions about the SMSF should be directed to Noël Peters, screening facility director, 265-8687 or noelpeters@wisc.edu.